Language is our window into reality, but language is not our reality.

Little words can make a big difference in what we see. For example, how often do you see “FREE”? To understand the separation of “language” and “reality”, it may be helpful to understand the sources of the language we often use without thinking.

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” ? The source of that phrase is “Stranger in a Strange Land”, by Robert Heinlein. The story of the book is set in a world after a nuclear holocaust. It comes from a time when school children were being conditioned to duck under their desks when they heard a warning siren. Looking back, it is apparent to see the foolishness of thinking a “school desk” would be protection from an atomic bomb. But that was the mentality of the 1950’s in America.

A summary of the situation: A young girl encounters an older man, wearing a protective suit (for radiation) in a wasteland similar to the scene of Hiroshima after the first atomic bomb was dropped. She asked if he could share anything to eat and he replied, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” The details reveal a small hole in his suit, which had been patched with something like duct tape. It is left to the reader to realize that the price the man had paid for that suit was to kill the person who had been wearing the suit. It was stories such as this that led a generation to fear a nuclear holocaust as the end of humanity.

Today’s advertising abuses the word “FREE”. How many offers have you heard for a FREE BOOK? The catch (and there are a couple) is that you are expected to pay the “shipping and handling”. The reality is that you probably also pay their actual cost of the book, which gives them your email address and credit card account at no cost to them. When you realize that listing companies often pay in excess of $25 for active leads, you can see what a good deal this is for them. For example, last week I clicked on a link about refinancing my home. So far, I have received FOUR follow up phone calls offering to refinance my home. None of them expressed an interest in going to work for me. 🙂

Finally, the first REAL lesson in economics is this: The “government” has NO money. It only has what it has first taken from someone else. The further misunderstanding is that when the “government seizes that money” (taxation and fees), it deducts a healthy administrative charge. While some states receive as much as $1.27 for every dollar they send to Washington, other states receive as little at $0.77. What is the rate for your state. For more information, you may want to check out http://www.OpenTheBooks.org.

Ken@wishbudranch.com